Hip replacement surgery may be necessary for a patient suffering from various conditions. Prosthetic implants may be used to replace a defective hip joint. A hip replacement surgery may involve removing a portion of the femur and/or acetabulum and inserting a prosthetic implant. During such procedures, it is known to use retractors in order to hold soft tissue in a position that permits the position to access the surgical site. In one common practice, a single retractor, or a number of retractors, will each be manually supported by an assistant. In these systems, the assistant will hold the retractor in position, and may apply a force against the soft tissue at the same time. In the case of relatively complex procedures such as hip replacement surgery, it may be necessary to use two or even a larger number of separate retractors, which may necessitate two or more assistants to manually operate the retractors. This may at some times be somewhat cumbersome.